A network environment typically includes hundreds and thousands of network nodes and/or devices, such as routers, hosts, hubs, and switches, configured to deliver information using, for example, packets or packet flows between source devices and destination devices. Information, content, and/or payload carried by packet(s) travelling through the network is generally transmitted and/or routed to its destinations via various nodes. Each network node typically includes one or more network elements and is configured to route packets and/or packet flows to their destinations.
With increasing demand for more information, such as audio, video, and data, to be supplied to homes and/or businesses, many network providers constantly upgrade, add, fix, and/or enhance their network capabilities and capacities to meet the demand. To maintain and/or upgrade an existing network, network elements (“NEs”) are continuously added, replaced, and/or upgraded at the nodes. When a new network device or NE is added or replaced at a node, the node, for example, is typically required to reboot to reconfigure the node before it can provide network services.
A problem associated with configuring and/or reconfiguring a node or NE is that it takes time, equipment, and/or resources to properly configure/reconfigure a node. For example, to configure an NE or node, a trained network operator connects a host console to a node and enters a configuration, reconfiguration, or provision command(s) at the command line of host console to initiate a configuration and/or provision of the node or box.
A conventional approach to improve the process of device configuration is to instruct a node or NE to enter a self-rebooting, self-discovery, or auto-configuration mode, where a host console may need to be connected to the command line interface of the node for activating the auto-configuration mode.